Inking roll and ink feed mechanism therefor



J. L. CARVER March 25, 1952 INKING ROLL AND INK FEED MECHANISM THEREFOR Filed Dec. 9, 1949 INVENTOR vJH/YIES L55 CKKYZZ ATTOR NE Y5 Patented Mar. 25, 1952 I'NKING ROLL AND INK FEED MECHANISM THEREFOR James Lee :Carver, Birmingham, Ala.

Application'December 9, 1949, Serial No. 132,071

Claims. 1

My present invention'relat'es to inking rolls for printing apparatus and to an improved ink feed mechanism for supplying the roll with ink from a source-of supply.

An object-of my invention is to provide an inking (roll embodying a cylinder of suitable ink absorbent material such for example as felt, the felt being secured "to a hollow, centrally disposed, perforated axle, together with an absorbent wick in the axle effective to distribute throughout the length oi-the roll ink supplied to one end of the axle.

Another object is to provide :means to "feed ink into one end of the axle which comprises essentially a pair of members having faces in slida-ble contact, one of said members being rotatable with the roll and the other thereof being stationary, there being an ink supply depression or recess in the face of the stationary member in communicationwith a supply of ink, anink transfer depression in the 'face of the movable member, an ink receiving depression in the stationary member, and an ink receiving depression in the movable memb'er in communication with the hollow axle, whereby ink is supplied to the axle bore as the ink roll'rotates.

Further objects are to provide the roll with a plurality of radially disposed wicks extending into the felt body of the roll and in contact with the wick in the hollow axle, thus assuring delivery of the ink to the felt by capillary action; to provide a valve between the source of ink supply and the ink feeding means whereby the amount of ink supplied to the axle for each revolution thereof may -be regulated; and to "provide apparatus :of the character designated which shall be simple and economical of construction and'trouble free in operation, and which shall be efiectit e to uniformly distribute a regulated quantity of ink to theiinking roll.

Apparatus illustrating the features of my invention is shown in the accompanying drawing forminga part -of this application in which:

Fig. 1 :is an end el'evational view, partlyb'roken away and in section, showing 'my improved ink roll and ink feed mechanism applied to a wellknown fol-moi roll paper printer;

Fig. 2 is a detail sectionalview taken generally along-line II-II of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a detail sectional view taken along line III--III-of-'Fig. 2.;

.Fig. bis ja-detail sectional view ltaiiengenerally alongline -IIV ofFi-g :2;

.Fig. 5 is a :detail sectional view taken along line V--V.of Fig. 4.;

Fig. 6 is a detail sectional view taken along line VIVI of Fig. 2.; and

Fig. 7 is a detail sectional view taken along line VII-VII of Fig. 6.

Referring now to the drawingfor a better understanding of my invention I show my improved apparatus associated with a well-known form of roll paper printer. As shown in Fig. 1 the apparatus may comprise a roll stand having rotata'oly supported thereina roll of paper H, the roll of paper being supported on brackets 12 carried in the end standards it in the manner well understood. A tear-bar its may be pivotally mounted to the standard it as at 13 whereby paper drawn from the roll may be evenly out.

'Mounted on top of the usual cross-bar 14 connecting the standards it is a bracket 16. Pivotally mounted to the bracket i6 is the housing I] of the printing apparatus proper. Such apparatus usually comprises a printing roll t8 which bears by gravity or is spring biased against the paper of the roll l l and carries suitable printing indicia, not shown. Upon rotation of the paper as it is being withdrawn from the ":roll lxi, matter on 'the'roll ['8 is printed on the'paper in the manner well understood.

Mounted in the housing .on suitable bearings l9 and 2| is my improved inking roll indicated generally by the numeral 22. The roll 22 bears against the periphery of the roll ('8, thereby to supply the latter with ink.

As bestshown in the detail views, my improved roll '22 comprises a cylindrical body portion 23 non-'rota'tably secured to a tubular axle '24. The

1 body 23 preferably is formed of an ink absorbent material such for instance as felt. The hollow or tubular axle 2:3 is closed at each end by means of a plu 25, and the tube is provided along its length with a plurality of spaced holes 27.

Mounted in the bore of the axle 24 is a wick 2 8 of absorbent material such as cotton or the like. Passing outwardly, namely, radially of the roll 22 through the holes '21 and in contact with the wick 28 are small diameter wicks 29. 'The wicks 29 contact the Wick '28, thereby assuring that ink in the wick 28 is carried by capillary action into the body of the felt 23, comprising the roll 22.

Secured to the axle 2t,'i11wardly of one end and immediately adjacent the'end of the ffelt roll 22 is a disc 3'! of material-such :as cast iron or the like. Loosely surrounding the axle and disposed to contact face to face with the disc 3| is'ano'ther disc 32. The disc 32 preferably is made of material such as brass or the like. The discs 31 and 32 are held tightly together by means of a spring 33. The spring 33 bears at one end against the outer face of the disc 32 and its other end fits against one race 34 of an anti-friction bearing 36, which race loosely surrounds the axle 24. The other race 37 of the anti-friction bearing is secured to the axle 24. It will thus be apparent that the spring 33 is anchored at its outer end against the anti-friction bearing, and exerts compressive force tending to pull the adjacent faces of the discs 3| and 32 together.

Mounted in the housing if is a tank 38 for a supply of ink. A pipe 39 connects the tank to a passage 4| drilled edgewise into the disc 32. A valve 42 is provided in the passage 4| and controls the flow of ink from the tank 33. The passage 4| terminates in an elongated recess or pocket 43 located near the periphery of the disc 32 on the inner face thereof. Also provided in the disc 32 is a radially elongated depression 44 which is spaced angularly from the depression 43.

As shown more clearly in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, the disc 3| i provided with an elongated depression 46 which is disposed on substantially the same radius as is the depression 43. Also provided in the inner face of the discs 3| is another depression 41 disposed at a distance from the center of the discs 3| to come into communication with the depression 44 in the disc 32 as the disc rotates as will be later explained. The recess 41 connects with the bore of the axle 24 through a passage 48.

From the foregoing the method of constructing my improved apparatus and its method of operation may now be readily explained and understood. While I have illustrated my improved inking roll and ink feed apparatus as associated with a paper roll printer it will be apparent that the same has utility in various other settings. From a consideration of the drawings it will be seen that the disc member 32 is non-rotatably held by means of the pipe connection 39. Thus, when the printing roll I8 causes rotation of the roll 22, the disc 3| rotates with the axle 24 .and the felt body 23, relative to the disc 32. The spring 33 holds the disc faces pressed tightly together. Ink fed downwardly through the pipe 39 enters the recess 43. As the disc 3| rotates, ink in the recess 43 passes into the recess 45 and is carried around and deposited in the recess 44. As the disc 3| continues to .rotate the depression 4! comes into alignment with the depression 44 whereupon ink in the depression 44 flows into the bore of the axle 24 through the passage 48. The ink is thus placed in the wick 28 and is carried by capillary attraction to the opposite end of the axle and is evenly distributed throughout the body of felt comprising the roll 22 by means of the small radially disposed wicks 29. It will be apparent that by suitably adjusting the valve 42 the quantity of ink deposited in the depression 43 may be varied in accordance with the requirement of the printing roll.

As best shown in Fig. 3, I prefer to drill the holes 21 through both side walls of the axle, each pair being in alignment. In making up the roll 22 I next prefer to place the small wicks in the holes 2'! by means of a needle, a single piece of wick material forming the wicks 29 which extend substantially the diameter of the roll 22. The felt for the roll may be in disc form or a solid cylinder of the same may be used. The diametrically extending wicks assure uniform distribution of ink to the roll body. As shown, I preferably drill two I I first place the wick 28 m the bore of the axle.

'4 on the axle, thus providing a pair of cross wicks which lie substantially in the same transverse plane.

It is to be especially noted that at no point in the relative rotation of the discs 3| and 32 is the wick 28 in direct communication with the supply of ink in the tank 38. Overinking of the roll 22 thus is effectively prevented. Consequently, I am enabled to employ thin inks, which in reality are certain types of dyes. This form of ink is especially useful for paper roll printers in that quick drying is essential because the printed paper is used immediately after being withdrawn from the roll. My imroved inking roll and ink feed mechanism therefor thus lends itself admirably to association with a paper roll printer.

From the foregoing it will be apparent that I have devised an improved inking roll and ink feed mechanism which is simple and economical of construction. In actual practice I have found that my improved feed mechanism is accurate and positive and that due to the pressure of the spring 33 the discs are held tightly enough together to prevent loss of ink from between the surfaces thereof. It will be apparent also to those skilled in the art that the discs may be made of various kinds of material, although I prefer to make the same of complementary bearing materials such as cast iron or steel on the one hand and brass or the like on the other.

While I have shown my invention in but one form, it will be obvious to those skilled in the art that it is not so limited, but is susceptible of various changes and modifications, without departing from the spirit thereof, and I desire, therefore, that only such limitations shall be placed thereupon as are specifically set forth in the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. In apparatus for inking printing rolls and the like, a rotary roll of ink absorbent material, a tubular axle at the center of the inking roll having a plurality of openings along the length thereof a wick in the tubular axle extending sub stantially the length of the inking roll, a plurality of wicks smaller in transverse sectional area than the wick in the axle having one end disposed in the bore of the axle and the other end extending into the roll of ink absorbent material, and a rotary valve operable upon rotation of the roll to supply the bore of the axle with a predeterminedv quantity of ink.

2. In apparatus for supplying ink to the centrally disposed tubular axle of an inking roll and the like, a rotary member secured to the axle, a second member non-rotatably supported with a face thereof in slidable contact with a face of the rotary member, there being ink receiving and ink storage depressions in the inner face of the stationary member, there being ink transfer and ink receiving depression in the inner face of the member secured to the axle, said ink receiving depressions in the rotary member being in com-.

munication with the interior of the axle, said depressions being constructed and arranged relative to each other to transfer ink from the first named depression to the last named one responsive to relative rotation between said members, and means to supply ink to the ink receiving depression of the stationary member.

3. In an inking roll and the like, a tubular axle having a plurality of pairs of holes through the side walls thereof in alignment with each other;

a wick in the bore of the tubular axle, a felt coverpairs of the holes 21 at a given longitudinal point L13; ing for said axle, a wick passing through at least 5 some of said pairs of holes with its ends embedded in the felt covering, and a rotary valve operable upon rotation of the axle to supply a predetermined quantity of ink to the wick in the bore of the axle.

4. An inking roll as defined in claim 3 in which there are two pairs of said holes located substantially at the same longitudinal point on the axle, and in which said Wicks passing through said holes lie substantially at right angles to each 1 felt covering.

JAMES LEE CARVER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of rebord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,164,730 Leary Dec. 21, 1915 1,167,268 Carrelet et al Jan. 4, 1916 1,570,857 Perkins Jan. 26, 1926 2,217,552 Horton Oct. 8, 1940 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 27,764 Great Britain Dec. 2, 1912 

